So my car – a gray 2005 Chrysler Sebring I’ve nicknamed ‘Donkey’ – is in the shop this week for a blown thermostat thingamajig. Depending on when this List gets published, the thingamawhatsis was fixed and my car is back on the road, or I’ve totally had to junk the thing and will soon be buying a new car. Fingers crossed for the first thing.

In honor of my car, which is the first car I’ve ever owned, I’ve decided to throw together a list of my favorite motor vehicles in pop culture. Because all the best characters have badass wheels. As Robin once said in a movie that should never, ever be quoted, “Chicks dig the car.”

Did you know Robin had a car? It was named ‘Redbird’

This list is only going to include motor vehicles like cars, trucks and vans. So no spaceships, no boats and no TARDIS. Perhaps they’ll get their own list some day. And I hope you guys share with me some of your favorite cars from pop culture! I’m sure I’ve missed a few really awesome ones.

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6. The Time-Traveling DeLorean

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And yet it never used those wings to fly

The concept of time travel had been around for a long time before Doc Brown came along, but only he had the vision to build a time machine out of a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12. The man truly was ahead of his time. With it’s gull-wing doors, silver color, sleek design and all that time traveling mumbo-jumbo on the back, the DeLorean is everyone’s ideal time machine. And not just because it can fly by feeding it garbage. Heck, this thing is more famous for being a time machine than for being an actual car! And since it was a real car sold to real people, each and every one of us could conceivably own one – and not just in our wildest dreams. Even non-nerds would stop and admire your time machine if you had one in the driveway.

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5. Herbie the Love Bug

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The little car with the big heart…and even bigger death count!

I loved the Herbie movies when I was a kid. The Love Bug was right up there with Godzilla in terms of my favorite childhood movie characters. And none of that Lindsay Lohan crap. I’m talking old school Herbie, kicking ass and taking names like only a sentient racing Volkswagen Beetle could! This little dude appeared in more movies than Elvis! Though as a kid, I could never really tell the movies apart. I just loved me some Herbie, or ‘Ocho’ as that one little kid who looked like Shortround used to call him. I’m surprised they never got around to reviving the character or the franchise when those new design Beetles came out. Waste of an opportunity, I’m tellin’ ya.

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4. The Ninja Turtle’s Party Wagon

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If the Party Wagon is rockin’…then come on in! It’s a party!

I never got a lot of action figure playsets when I was a kid, but you damn well better believe I had the Party Wagon! And the name speaks for itself. The Ninja Turtles’ van kicks ass! The roof popped up, characters could fit inside, and it had this cool side door that swung open with a Turtle attached to pop out and fight the Foot! Even stripped of all that stuff – as my toy eventually came to be – it was still a ton of fun. The Party Wagon never made it into the movies, but back in the 80s cartoon, it was the vehicle of choice. I loved how they actually showed Donatello building the van in the first few episodes. It was big, it was loud and it was full of teenage mutant ninja personality. Though it also reinforces the fact that the Ninja Turtles were terrible at blending in.

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3. Ecto 1

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I would call the Ghostbusters just to see them drive up

Another toy I had as a child, Ecto 1 had this awesome grappling claw that came out of the back that could…grab things, I guess. Not that ghosts can be grabbed. But as a toy, it was awesome. The Real Ghostbusters toy line was almost as much fun as the Ninja Turtle toyline. In the movies, Ecto 1 was just as fantastic. So full of kitschy style, just like the entire Ghostbusters franchise. White like an ambulance but shaped like a funky hearse, Ecto 1 was absolutely perfect for carrying around a quad of ghost fighting mad scientists! And then, of course, it got a cool new upgrade in the sequel with more junk and doodads attached.

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2. Benny the Cab

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Outta the way, ya bums!

Childhood attachment being what it is, Benny the Cab is actually one of my most favorite fictional characters of all time. I absolutely love da bum! Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was one of my favorite movies as a kid (even if I didn’t understand all the grown-up jokes), and Benny was my favorite part. He was funny, he was a wiseass and he had a great Brooklyn accident for a taxi cab. He was also Roger’s buddy, and I have always loved sidekicks. Roger and Eddy Valiant were the stars, but Benny was there to help out. All they had to do was stick out their thumb!

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1. The Batmobile

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The greatest thing that was ever invented, ever

Whenever somebody asks me what my dream car is, I only have one answer: the Batmobile. This baby is the single greatest vehicle in all of pop culture. It’s such an amazing combination of old school and new school. The superhero’s car is a classic, right? But think about it: how many superheroes actually have theme cars? Just one. The very idea of a superheromobile is utterly Golden Age. But Batman pulls it off, and he does so with style. The Batmobile is always the most high-tech, futuristic thing in all of comics. Sometimes it can fly, sometimes it’s built like a tank; whatever the creative people need. The Batmobile is the very definition of how comics can be cool and dorky at the same time. I don’t personally have a favorite design, but nothing says power a prestige quite like the Batmobile from Batman and Batman Returns.